Proton conduction in ionic crystals based on polyoxometalates

Polyoxometalates (POMs) have attracted considerable attention as an important class of protonconductive materials since POMs can efficiently transport protons due to their small effective negative surface charge density. However, the acid salts of POMs suffer from low structural stability and limit the practical application for fuel cells. A promising approach to overcome the drawback is hybridizing POMs with appropriate counter cations to construct POM-based ionic crystals. In this review, we will classify POM-based ionic crystals into four groups by the type of counterpart of POMs: 1) inorganic cations, 2) organic cations, 3) organic polymers, and 4) cationic complexes, and present an overview of the recent advances including the design strategies, the proton conductivity, and the mechanism for proton conduction.

Automated summary

In this review, the recent advances in POM-based ionic crystals are summarized, including the design strategies, proton conductivity, and mechanisms for proton conduction.